The Savage
by IrishRed5
Summary: The powerful Boomers realize that resources are running short and with the drums of war beating in the Mojave their need is even greater if they wish to maintain their way of life. Their exclusion of 'savages' of the outside world is tested when a mysterious man outruns their artillery barrage. Is this troubled man their enemy or can the Boomers come to trust him as their own?
1. Chapter 1

Raquel sat at her usual post atop shipping containers. It overlooked the expansive area to the north of Nellis Air Force Base, the place she had called home all her life. Next to her on the dirty table was an assault carbine that had been begging for action. She sighed. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to make it through their territory. Most of the time it was just a drifter that had accidentally stumbled into the area.

As time went on however, things to obliterate, also often referred to as target practice, had stopped altogether. She knew it was wishful thinking when other tribesmen said that their reputation had kept people away. Raquel knew this wasn't the case.

She began to look over her grenade machine gun. The first time she had taken up the weapon it had seemed like overkill. What could possibly need repeated grenade fire? Her tribe had a knack for high-powered weapons with equally as destructive ordinance. Almost every Boomer carried a 'grenade-this' or 'launcher-that'. It was safe to say, the Boomers had an affinity for explosions, it was right in their tribe name. Explosions created a feeling of safety, ironically enough. The sound of an explosion waking everyone up in the middle of the night helped them sleep sounder, for it meant another savage extinguished. Raquel found she was much more restless if she slept without hearing at least one explosion. This was why she was so anxious today. There had not been an explosion in months. Granted she mostly slept during the day, her rounds at the night shift had also turned up with no artillery fire. Howitzers spelled safety to everyone at Nellis AFB.

The longer time went without a tally on the side of the watchtower, the more it made Raquel think someone was tipping the savages off. She glanced over at the Strip to the east. It was quite the sight. A pretty sight, but yet to her, it was the sight of the ego of the old world. The world that got them here. The damn Boot Riders had turned to an old world name the 'Chairmen' they began to call themselves. Raquel remembered Pearl speaking of the Chairmen's egos and their ruthless manner. This, she had said, was why the Boomers did not make contact with the outside world. To prevent corruption and manipulation that would surely follow if the savages breached their walls. So here she sat, keeping a vigilant watch. Keeping the savages at bay.

Raquel considered herself lucky to have been born a Boomer. The Boomers were one of the few tribes that hadn't been sucked into the old world games of the strip. Gambling, liquor, and whores were a shallow mirage that only lasted so long, and when you finally woke up, you were broke. This was another one of the elder's quotes. Though Raquel was considered an elder now, she tried not to think of it that way. It made her feel old. She was only twenty-nine, but her experience made her appear older in the eyes of her tribe. Though she was often overlooked for the very same reason. She was working the mid-day shift today to oversee the raid on the array building. It had been overrun by ants and was no longer operational. It was vital that they regained control. She had fought some expected resistance from the other elders when discussing who to send to dispatch the array situation. Raquel had pressed the matter, it was important that they got their greener, younger units more experience.

Raquel returned her thoughts to the present. Her attention turned to a man sprinting towards her. He came from the direction of the array. The way he ran exuded sheer panic. Raquel hefted her gun from her lap and stood. She began to move down from her post and meet the man.

This must be the team I sent in to take care of ants, she thought. From the looks of things, it didn't go well. Behind the man she could see two others scramble from the array building, they were headed in the direction of the main base.

The young man approached her breathlessly. His face was covered with a thin layer of sweat that shone in the setting sun. He placed his hands on his knees and hunched over, taking ragged breaths as he tried to regain his breath.

Raquel could see he was scared, she knew what he was about to say.

"Speak!" Raquel demanded, trying to snap the frightened young man from his panic.

"T-the ants…" he took a few more ragged breaths, his brown eyes glassy with a mix of exhaustion and fear. Raquel knew this look all too well, but thankfully her experience granted her a method of dealing with this. She would have a nice chat with him later.

"They exploded when we shot them…" the young guard took another breath, "The laser weapons made them blow too. They were everywhere! We lost half of our unit… Some of our guys didn't get out, Arms Master."

Raquel glared down at the young and obviously green guard.

"So you just left your brothers down there? What's your name?" Raquel demanded.

The young man's brown eyes widened as he realized what his superior had said.

"Daniel, mixed arms unit, Arms Master." The young man said hesitantly.

"Well, Daniel. Seeing as you left your comrades to die, let's see if we can regain some of your honor and prevent being painted a coward. Come with me and help me look for the wounded. That's an order."

"Yes, Arms Master." Daniel said, straightening up to attention. He then sheepishly stared down at his hands, indicating he had no weapon.

Raquel wasn't about to let him off easy. She knew lives were at risk, but she wasn't about to let him use her carbine. She sat her grenade machine gun underneath the table and reached for her assault carbine. She also slung the ammo capacitor that rested on her back onto the ground and grabbed a medical kit. The two began to run towards the array. She tossed the med-kit to Daniel. She ignored his puzzled look when she neglected to give him a weapon.

"Here, carry this and use it to treat the wounded. We need to get them to the doc as soon as possible. And if you find yourself face to face with an ant in there. Fight it with your bare hands." Raquel said disdainfully, "I'm not about to let you off easy for being foolish."

When they came up on the scene, Raquel could see that Daniel wasn't exaggerating. There were disheveled bodies in the main room along with two dead ants. Scorch marks and blood lined the walls around the corpses. There was a distinct smell of gunpowder in the air. It was common scent around the base but it was especially strong here. Raquel trained her gun on the doorway to the left. She could hear the groans of the wounded. Daniel remained a step behind her. Raquel put her back to the wall and quickly peered around the corner. The sound of numerous insect feet pitter-pattering on the floor could be heard. Raquel leveled her assault carbine and fired at the oncoming ant with controlled burst. She took great pride in her trigger discipline when the ant collapsed before her. She turned and looked at Daniel, "Go!" she whispered.

Daniel quietly made his way to the fallen. He immediately began applying stimpaks and bandages to the wounded areas on his squad mates. Raquel continued to watch the perimeter while Daniel treated the wounded. She was not accustomed to this much blood. It made her feel a little woozy. The nice thing about her tribe is most of their enemies were taken at a distance and obliterated. She had seen a few sprays of blood, but her job generally didn't involve much gore. Apparently the two wounded were named Chaun and Micah. Both were wounded quite badly, but they managed to stay conscious with Daniel's help until Argyll could make it there. Daniel also made sure to assist with carrying Chaun and Micah from the building. Raquel was forced to fire pot shots at the ants to keep them at bay. This was a far more serious problem than she had originally thought.

The walk back to the infirmary allowed her time to reflect. Daniel was a coward, quite clearly. Judging from his lack of success with the mission, he probably wasn't any good with a weapon either. What she did notice was his way around field medicine. He was quite good. He was nowhere near Argyll, but given time he could replace Argyll. Perhaps not fully, but Daniel was quite a bit more mobile than Argyll was these days.

Raquel made a mental note to bring this up with Pearl tomorrow. For now, she had a date with her bed. She entered the women's barracks and immediately began to remove her armor. She let out a sigh. It had been a long day. The image of the brutalized corpses in the array didn't readily leave her conscience.

Raquel shook her head at this, too many times had they slipped up. Their numbers and resources were thin as it is. She knew sending a green unit into the array was a bad idea, but the other elders had pushed for it, given the base perimeter had to be protected at all costs… like always. The Boomers were running thin and they were growing more desperate with each day. Raquel collapsed into her bed, silently thanking her tenure. It allowed her the rights to a bottom bunk in the women's barracks.

Raquel hadn't been asleep more than an hour when the sound of howitzer and missile fire rocked the barracks. The Boomer women were all shaken awake in their bunks. Whispers ran rampant as the explosions did not relent. Raquel sat with her eyes closed listening closely, counting the explosions. Something was wrong, there had to have been at least two-dozen rounds fired. Her eyes shot awake just as the thud of hurried boots stopped at the door. Shortly after it door burst open, revealing an exasperated guard's voice.

"Arms Master! A savage has reached the gates!"

* * *

**When I first came across the Boomers I found myself intrigued by their culture. It almost immediately reminded me of a more violent version of Vault 101 with their isolationist policy. They too believed they were shielding their people from the 'harshness of the wasteland'. I also saw shades of Fallout 3 in some of their characters. Raquel especially reminded me of Sarah Lyons, whom is one of my favorite Fallout characters so I wanted to try and give her more of a story. And yes, hers will be different from Sarah, I promise.**

** Anyways, I always felt they had great potential to be hashed out a bit more. The quests with them involved seemed to breeze by. I have yet to come across a fic involving the Boomers and see that none of their characters are available for selection. Correct me if I am wrong thought because I would like to see other people's work if it is out there. **

**So here I am writing fresh off of my in game inspiration. I haven't yet decided if this is going to be a romance or not. It really depends on how things go. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.  
**

**IrishRed5**


	2. Chapter 2

Raquel shook herself awake and slipped on her dirty combat armor. She felt the eyes of the rest of the women's barracks on her as she made her way out. They were scared. Raquel could almost say the same for herself. She decided it was not fear, but nervousness. Perhaps even curiosity, but this she knew was a dangerous feeling for a Boomer to have. She exited the barracks and hefted the ammo feed onto her back. When it came to her people's safety she could never be too careful. She let her assault carbine strapped across her back. It would prove slow to retrieve, but she was quite practiced at it.

Though her face didn't show it, Raquel was wracking her brain for how she was to handle this savage. She couldn't remember the last time she saw one up close. What would she say? Mother Pearl would know what to do. She knew bringing him straight to their esteemed leader would be the stupidest thing she could do. It would all depend on how cooperative the savage was.

Raquel could see her heavily armed men and women all zeroed in on the savage. He looked human. That was a start. Raquel sized up the figure on the other side of the chain link fence, making sure she was out of sight. It was male. He was male. His hair was jet black and cut similar to the Boomer standard military length. Sunglasses shielded his eyes, making his emotions difficult to discern. He was fairly tall and noticeably fit, standing taller than all of the Boomer guards. He wore desert colored combat armor, strikingly similar to Raquel's, though she had to admit it looked of better quality. She could hear the guided missile expert, Evan, speaking to the outsider.

"I had you zeroed in! No one's that fast!" He exclaimed, his voice shocked, with good reason. Evan was incredibly accurate with his launcher. He _never_ missed… well, not until today.

The man smirked slightly, "And yet, here I am." His tone was light though it still carried a gentle mocking undertone.

He showed confidence in the fact that the Boomers were not going to kill him just yet. Not at this close range. Raquel wondered if he was smart enough to figure out their artillery pattern and knowing they wouldn't know what to do with the savage when he reached the gates or if he was just plain lucky. She hoped it was luck.

He held no weapons. Everything that was even remotely dangerous was laid out on the ground before him. Raquel was surprised at what he carried. Laid before him was a military grade landmine, a couple grenades, a.44 pistol, an assault carbine, a collapsed rifle of some sort, and… Was that a machete?

Evan continued to speak to the man, "Our Arms Master should be here soon."

The savage only nodded very slowly, keeping his arms raised before him in surrender. Raquel noticed he had a pip-boy, which was uncommon for what she seen of savages. She wondered where he received his. Raquel decided that this man had to be a spy of some sort and she was determined to discover his angle. Though she never expected a spy to infiltrate their ranks by simply waltzing past their artillery and knocking at the front gate. It was all very fishy.

She finally walked into view and glared at the savage.

"I'm Raquel Master-at-Arms for the Nellis homeland."

She had the savage's full attention. Though she couldn't see his expression through his sunglasses, he appeared oddly calm. It irritated Raquel. Usually the artillery barrage was enough to scare the daylights out of any savage that was dumb enough to test them. This one was unique…and Raquel did not like it at all.

She couldn't decide whether to execute him on the spot or throw him in their lockup. Raquel decided to leave it up to Mother Pearl. She needed to meet up with her anyway. This would be the first time anyone outside of the Boomers would occupy their lock up.

"Come with me. If you cooperate, I might not kill you." Raquel ordered. The man only nodded and stepped forward as Evan opened the gate.

Raquel slid her assault carbine from her back and into her hands while clipping her grenade machine gun to her waist. The weight of the gun would be a hindrance to most. It was something she had grown quite used to over the years. She was stronger than she looked.

The man silently followed her. He looked around at the Nellis structures. His features never betrayed their blank expression. Raquel could see her people staring. A crowd gathered in the distance, most were too fearful to get any closer to the savage. They pointed and whispered, holding their children close as they watched an outsider enter their walls.

Raquel opened the door to the lockup, revealing a dusty and dimly lit jail. The savage entered without a word of protest. There were two cells, one on each side of the arced shed. There was a desk in the middle that was accumulating dust. This showed just how little it was used. The Boomers just didn't get into trouble. As a society, they were models of discipline. Raquel opened the cell door, keeping her right hand fixed on her carbine. The savage entered and took a seat on the dingy cot that sat against the wall. He sat on the edge and leaned forward, crossing his muscular arms.

"Our eldest, Mother Pearl would like to speak with you. She'll be along shortly." Raquel said.

The savage nodded, "Until then." He said calmly, his voice decidedly masculine. It had an edge of authority with it. He definitely wasn't just any drifter. This man had a purpose. But savages were savages and Raquel was not going to think of this one any differently.

* * *

Five years. Mother Pearl had waited five years for an outsider to reach Nellis' gates. She adjusted her green military coat and shifted her grenade launcher to a more comfortable position on her back. Pearl was good with a gun, but she preferred hand to hand. It wasn't as messy and saved a lot of lives. She didn't have much use for either anymore given her age, but looks could be deceiving. She was still one of the best, but her current role as the elder dealt with tribe politics and leadership. She still carried her grenade launcher and six grenades at all times to uphold the Boomer image mostly. When Raquel entered, she looked a little flustered.

"What is it my child?" Pearl asked innocently, though she knew very well what Raquel would say.

Raquel paced over and finally met Pearl's gaze.

"A savage has reached the gates. He is currently being held at the lockup with a few men keeping an eye on him."

Pearl could see the rage in Raquel's eyes.

"I would very much like to speak with him."

Raquel wasn't expecting this reaction.

"Why can't we just do away with him just like the others?"

Pearl met Raquel's almond colored eyes for a moment as if reading her thoughts.

"Why didn't you already?" Pearl inquired.

Raquel opened her mouth and closed it a few times.

"I-I don't know…"

Pearl's expression changed to one of understanding as she spoke to the youngest and the brightest of the Boomer elders. She put a hand on her shoulder, knowing that she was the only one in Nellis that was allowed to do such a thing and not get slugged.

"Because we both know that if we are to survive the coming war, we need to reach out." Pearl said.

Raquel stared back, her expression neutral. Though she hid it, Pearl knew Raquel agreed.

"Are you going to speak with him or not?" Raquel said her voice slightly impatient.

Pearl nodded. When Raquel showed her back as she headed to the door, Pearl smiled. Though the Arms Master wouldn't admit it, Pearl was right on target.

She followed Raquel as they made their way to the jail. As they exited Pearl's barracks they could see something of a crowd gathered, lingering around the jail. The crowd turned and faced Pearl and Raquel; murmurs of the savage were dancing through the crowd. Some were even outraged, calling for the savage's death. Raquel began to order the populace away from the doors, giving the lone guard some assistance. She looked quite flustered as she tried to keep the raucous Boomers at bay. She stood fast, brandishing a baton as she waved it at a particularly volatile man. When Raquel stepped between them the man backed down, knowing what the Master-at-Arms was capable of. The lone guard gave her an appreciative nod as Pearl followed Raquel into the jail.

Two guards leaned up against the desk at the center of the room. They quickly stood at attention as their Elder and Master-at-Arms entered. Pearl turned and looked at the savage, clearly sizing him up as well. He stood and moved to the cell door, resting his arms on the slot in the door.

Pearl moved up to him calmly.

"For many years I have been waiting for an outsider to reach our walls. And finally, here you are." Pearl said as if speaking of a prophecy. She seemed to notice Raquel's puzzled glance. Looking at the man now without his sunglasses, he looked much younger than he appeared for a brief moment. He seemed interested in what Pearl had to say. His green eyes were a stark contrast from his dark hair. He was quite obviously a spy by the looks of it, and a young, strapping one at that. He couldn't be much older than Jack, who was in his early twenties. He remained silent as Pearl continued to speak to him.

"Before I ask something of you, sav- outsider," Pearl corrected her potentially offensive Boomer slang for non-tribe members. Raquel glanced at the savage, who didn't appear in the least bit offended. His impassive expression continued to drive Raquel nuts.

"I must ask," Pearl said, her eyes twinkling with kind curiosity, "When one speaks of the Boomers, how do they describe us?"

The man stood straight before speaking. He stood a good half foot taller than Pearl. Their Elder was not a short woman.

"The Boomers are often spoke of quite simply as a very territorial tribe that uses high powered artillery to keep those who trespass from entering their gates. The NCR, whom I'm sure you know of, views your isolationist practices as selfish. Though many respect your freedom from outside influence. Those who travel the Mojave make sure that they avoid the area surrounding Nellis. One man has even taken it upon himself to warn travelers that might be following the highway that runs along your territory." The man said. Pearl seemed to be quite impressed by his eloquent manner of speaking. It only made Raquel despise the savage more. He was smooth talker there was no doubt in her mind he was a spy, and a good one at that.

Pearl appeared pleased with the savage's interpretation of the Boomer's reputation. Raquel found this also pleasing but she remained suspicious. Given the man's situation, Raquel knew she would say anything that would make her captors pleased if she were in his boots. She decided she had heard enough.

"Mother Pearl, if you have no further need of me, I would like to get some shut eye. Since it was… interrupted." Raquel spat the last word at the savage and glared at him tersely. He appeared unaffected by her words, however.

Raquel marched from the barracks, ignoring the salutes from her kin. She was too tired to care, and given Evans and the others had failed at their duty, she wasn't about to salute them.

As Pearl continued to speak to the outsider, her interest in the young man piqued. He seemed intelligent and no doubt dangerous, but something told Pearl that the young man needed this as much as the Boomers needed him. Pearl questioned herself if she was desperately hoping he was the outsider from the prophecy or if she was genuinely right.

Raquel was only doing her job by being hostile towards the outsider, Pearl had considered Raquel's concerns about him being a spy. Something told Pearl that this was not the case. Perhaps the young man had been sent here, but it did not mean he was sent here for ill. When Pearl looked into the young man's eyes she could see past the well practiced faced of stoicism. Reading people it was a skill she had practiced for nearly fifty years. Her gut told her this young man was looking for answers…purpose…direction.

She would be more than happy to point him to the righteous path. It wouldn't be easy, but something told Pearl this young man was used to difficult trials, taking note of the various scars that dotted the places in which skin was visible. As for the Elders, they would come around.

"What is your name outsider?" Pearl asked. Her previous thoughts had caused a short pause in the conversation.

"Hadrian." The young man said.

Pearl squinted slightly, her wrinkles turning to valleys at the unfamiliar name.

"Well, Hadrian. It seems I must ask something of you, as I mentioned before."

Hadrian nodded, but said nothing.

"It seems in our efforts to keep the rest of the world out, we have run into issues specific to our exclusion."

When Hadrian raised an inquisitive brow, "Well, you don't exactly roll out the red carpet," the sav…outsider quipped. Pearl almost forgot he didn't know Boomer customs. She clarified.

"You see, where most would simply go out and scavenge for supplies or knowledge, our ways keep us within Nellis' vicinity. My dreams have told me that you possess the ability to solve our problems, child. Whether my people admit it or not, we need your help, outsider."

Hadrian looked unsure of something, "What exactly is it I am supposed to be able to help you with?"

Pearl smiled at him thinly. At least he was open to suggestion.

"Ask around. Our elders will know of our most pressing matters. Our elders are: Argyll our doctor, Loyal our engineer… of sorts, Pete our tribe historian, and Raquel our Master-at-Arms whom you met earlier."

Hadrian smirked a bit at the mention of the hostile arms master.

"She was quite friendly," Hadrian said. A sly, toothless grin played on his features. It suited his looks well.

Pearl laughed silently at his sarcasm, "Yes, Raquel is slow to trust, but she's just doing her job. She's hostile towards you out of loyalty to her people."

Hadrian nodded as if he shared or at least knew such duty, "Understandable."

To his credit, Hadrian was quite cryptic, had she not been guided by her visions, she may never have known the young man's harrowing story.

"Who do you recommend I speak to first?" Hadrian asked.

Pearl was impressed that he asked for suggestion instead of simply taking off on his own. But then again, he was still locked in the cell. She looked around at the numerous guards. Since Evan had resumed his place at the gates, Deena one of the more skilled guards was put in charge of watching the savage…outsider. Pearl knew she needed to remove the insulting name from her vocabulary as a courtesy. She would also have the word spread that the rest of the Boomer clan should follow suit.

"Deena?"

"Yes Mother Pearl?"

Pearl smiled at the accomplished young guard, her small and closely aligned eyes peering at her Elder. Deena was rather stocky in build and her face equally as wide, making her well suited for heavy weapons. Her gaze was quite piercing even when it wasn't intended. She was chosen for this role as reason. She was intimidating as well as skilled in her enforcement. She kept the troublemakers in line when needed and defended the homefront valiantly.

"Come tomorrow morning, I would like for you to give the outsider full access to Nellis."

Deena's eyes widened, but she obeyed, "Yes, ma'am."

She turned and glared at the outsider for a moment, then faced her elder again.

"Why are you doing this, Mother Pearl?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Because we need his help." Pearl said in a equally quiet voice.

"Why him?" Deena pressed.

"I'm not sure why myself. But you will see." Pearl said with a toothless smile, her wrinkles deepening.

Deena gave her Elder a half-hearted smirk.

Pearl gave the outsider one last smile and then left.

* * *

Deena turned nervously to the savage. She heard him say something, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"What did you say, savage?" she said rather heatedly.

"I was wondering what exactly your Elder wants me to help your people with?" he asked innocently, disarming Deena's hostility some.

One look at the charming expression on his face and Deena found herself spilling.

"Well, we've been having trouble retaking our solar array. Its been overtaken by giant ants. They've built a nest and are spreading like wildfire. A team went in the other day but they hardly made a dent. A couple of them are still recovering in the infirmary." Deena said. She quickly looked away, avoiding the outsider's gaze. She still couldn't believe she told him that, but it _was _Mother Pearl's orders.

The savage didn't say anything for a moment and an awkward silence ensued.

"So… who would I talk to about that? I can't kill giant bugs with my bare hands. I mean… I could try. It just wouldn't be the smartest course of action."

"Our Master-at-Arms, Raquel would be the one talk to about that," Deena said, remembering her orders.

"Ah, the friendly one that was here earlier?" the alluring savage jested.

Deena suppressed a laugh but she knew the savage had seen it.

"Yes, that was Raquel. She takes her job seriously." Deena said. Raquel was one of the few people that weren't gossiped about. This was mostly because she'd kick anyone's ass if she found out. Raquel demanded the respect of the entire tribe.

"I respect that. I have similar values. I suspect you do too." The savage said carefully.

Deena was actually looking at him now, "Oh really?" she challenged, curious to see what his ploy was going to be.

"Really," he said, shifting his weight as he leaned against the slot of the cell door.

"I think I can help your people, Deena. And in return, I think the Boomers can help me. You Elder trusts me not to do your people any harm. She is your leader after all." He said smartly. His smirk was accentuated by his dark facial hair, outlined his lips in a rather pleasing manner. The stubble continued along the edges of his face as well. If Deena had to guess, Hadrian was at least a little Latino. The hue of his skin was a shade or two lighter than Mother Pearl's, she had Latino roots also.

"Tomorrow morning you can get your weapons. Only if," she said the last two words firmly, with warning, "You use them to exterminate the ants and put the relays back online. Then I must take them again."

Hadrian sighed, but said nothing.

"Okay," he finally said, "Just point me in the right direction."

"Tomorrow." Deena said pressingly.

Hadrian sat down slowly and arched into the cot, his arms and legs both crossed in a leisurely fashion. He kept a defiant smirk on his face even after he fell asleep, much to Deena's annoyance.

* * *

Raquel was at her usual post at the usual time. She watched over the same horizon that she had for years. She sighed to herself, the same thing every damn day. The only exception came yesterday. But of course it didn't happen during her shift. She stared sourly into the distance. If it had been her shift the savage would have been dead in his tracks before Pearl could save him.

Raquel glanced at the array building. She still couldn't believe that they, the mighty Boomers were being held out of their solar array building by a bunch of overgrown ants. It was disgraceful.

A movement caught Raquel's eye near the solar arrays. She picked up her binoculars and zeroed in on the object.

It was the savage…and he was armed! Raquel didn't even take the time to set her binoculars down. They clattered onto the plywood bridge with a _thunk_.

_Now you're dead._

Raquel shouted to the savage, "Hey! What are you doing out of your cell?"

The savage calmly dropped his assault carbine and kept his arms at his side.

Raquel kept her grenade machine gun trained on the savage as she spoke. Making sure to keep a bit of a distance from him so her weapon wouldn't also maim her in the blast.

"Trying to make a run for it?" Raquel asked, her voice showed she hoped this was the case.

The savage looked as though he suppressed a laugh.

"Running from what?" he asked. Raquel was pretty sure he was mocking her, but his tone of voice didn't seem to support her theory.

Raquel glanced around to see if anyone was watching, but she detected no one.

"Why else would you be out here unescorted?" she pressed.

"I have permission to be out here. Pearl wanted me to help take care of the ant problem." He explained.

"_Mother_ Pearl, didn't tell me anything about this." Raquel said warily.

The savage just shrugged.

Raquel thought for a minute and then lowered her weapon. She decided it would be more demeaning if the spy was killed by ants instead of he Mother Pearl couldn't blame her. Raquel smirked ever so slightly.

"If you want to try and take them out, I'm not going to stop you. Turn the reactors on the bottom floor back on again. You'll know when their both up." Raquel said, purposely leaving the part out about the gunpowder.

The savage didn't exactly on the look of the eager do-gooder. If anything, he looked suspicious.

"I'll do it, even though you're just trying to get me killed." He said flatly.

Raquel smiled at his plight, "You'll get no argument from me there."

The savage just shook his head, picked up his weapons and headed into the array.

Part of Raquel wanted to be the one to take the ants out, but the savage would at least thin them out for another team.

She decided to stay and listen for the explosions to begin.

After awhile, a few muffled explosions rattled the ground. Raquel smiled to herself. _Problem solved._

She walked back to her post and sat down with a smirk.

_Another spy bites the dust._

Raquel had just started to praise herself when the hum of the solar arrays coming to power filled the air. Raquel stared at the array building in disbelief. She had to be imagining things.

A while after she heard the sound of a metallic door opening.

Raquel fumbled for her binoculars.

When they came into focus, Raquel could see a grimy, but very much alive savage walking from the array.

Raquel found herself speechless for the moment. The bastard was still alive and relatively unscathed.

* * *

**A/N: I assume you noticed I didn't write the first meeting with the Boomers and Pearl exactly the way it is in the game. It took awhile fore me to come up with an alternate setting for where the meeting would take place. **

**I found it strange that when you reach the Boomers front gates they're shocked at first, but then they just let you waltz around with your guns. Even if Pearl believes your character will help them, you'd think such an isolated tribe would be a little more cautious. So I made my interpretation around that. It's a little difficult making names for other Boomers since very few of them have names. I guess you could consider them OCs. **

**The other thing I thought was weird about the Boomer base is where Raquel's post is located. If she's the Arms Master, then she should be watching the front gate not the rear fence, the commander should be a the heart of the action, calling the shots. The area she's supposed to be watching doesn't even look like it's accessible anyways. So I moved her post to a more central location. ****ANYWAYS, I'm done nit-picking Nellis.**

**I would very much appreciate your input on what you like or don't like. While I'm not against criticism, I will ask your critique to be constructive and not an angry rant. **

**As for the romance or no romance dilemma, I haven't yet decided. I'm leaning more towards not, but things can change. We'll see how things pan out.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**IR5**


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